"God Forbid."
Shortly after sunrise on the morning of Saturday 7 October, a message pings on 200 phones of the Be'eri mothers' WhatsApp group.
Minutes later another message lands: "We have a terrorist on the stairs. Call someone."
WARNING: Some readers may find details in this article distressing.
Hamas gunmen had just begun a day-long rampage through this kibbutz in southern Israel, and over the next 20 hours, the women channeled their horror, disbelief, and reassurances through the chat - as militants roamed the neighborhood shooting residents dead and setting fire to homes.
Hiding in their safe rooms these women - some huddled with their families - described the shouts and explosions they heard outside, told each other where gunmen were, shared tips on coping with smoke that filled their rooms, and repeatedly called for help. In some cases, that help never came.
As the hours ticked by, they asked questions. Where was the army? Why was help taking so long? Can somebody please look for my mother? How do I lock my safe room? Should we open the door to a man claiming to be a soldier?
At some point, somebody changed the name of the group to "Be'eri Mothers Emergency".
This group chat was shared with the BBC by a woman put forward by the community to speak to the media in the wake of the attacks. She is one of the mothers on the chat and shared the details with us so we could see how the terror of the day unfolded - and what a lifeline these women were in the most desperate and sometimes final hours of their lives.
We could not seek the permission of all 200 members, but three of them agreed to tell us their stories in detail, and we have anonymized all other exchanges, being careful to ensure nobody can be identified to protect their privacy.
Some members are unaccounted for, presumed dead or missing. Survivors estimate that about 100 people were killed and many were taken away as hostages.
Minute-by-minute, this chat reveals in detail not seen before how Hamas stalked, murdered, and burned people in their own homes, coming back again and again. It is an insight into what it felt like across southern Israel as Hamas gunmen crashed across the border and tore through dozens of communities.
It shows how residents survived and supported one another - but it also documents, hour by hour, their growing desperation, as it became clear they would not be rescued by the Israeli state anytime soon.
0 Comments